a 
{42 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 
eo 
two narrow white bands on wing, formed by the tips of the first and second coy- 
erts, succeeded by one of brown; the edge of the first primary, and of the second- 
aries and tertials, white; tail rather lighter brown, edged externally like the back; 
feathers narrow, not acuminate, with the ends rather blunt. In autumn, the white 
parts are strongly tinged with yellow. 
Length, about five inches; wing, two and sixty-five one-hundredths; tail, two 
and fifty one-hundredths. 
Hab. — "astern United States to Missouri plains. 
This species arrives from the South usually about the 
last week in April. The birds commence building about 
the 20th or 25th of May. The nest is placed usually in 
a small fork of a limb of an apple-tree, in the orchard, and 
often quite near the house: it is composed of soft, fine grass, 
cobwebs, twine, cotton, —in fact, almost any thing that will 
help to make a smooth, compact fabric: the interior is lined 
with soft grass, bristles, fine roots, feathers, and wool. The 
eggs are usually four in number, sometimes three, some- 
times five: they are of a beautiful creamy-white color; and 
their form is nearly pyriform, being abruptly tapered to the 
small end. Dimensions of a nest complement of four eggs, 
taken at random from a large number, collected in different 
parts of New England: .65 by .50 inch, .64 by .51 inch, 
.61 by .53 inch, .60 by .53 inch. This species often breeds 
twice in the season in New England. The period of incuba- 
tion is thirteen days. 
This bird, being very abundantly distributed as a summer 
resident throughout New England, is well known, and its 
habits are familiar to all. It prefers the neighborhood of 
civilization, and is most frequently found in orchards and 
gardens. A pair once built in an apple-tree, immediately 
beneath my chamber window, —so near that I could touch 
the nest with a rod four feet in length. The nest was com- 
menced on the 5th of June, and was finished by the 10th; 
both birds working in its construction. The female laid 
four eggs in three days’ time, and commenced sitting when 
the fourth was laid. Both birds incubated, and the male 
remained on the nest nearly as long as his mate. When he 
a OBC 
“ 
